Pound Rises As European Shares Traded Higher

(RTTNews) - The British pound strengthened against other major currencies in the European session on Monday, as European shares traded higher following the U.S. decision to grant tariff exclusions on smartphones, computers, and other electronics—many of which are imported from China.

However, there is still some uncertainty about Trump's moves, as commerce secretary Howard Lutnick later clarified that these exemptions are not permanent. Trump later said on Truth Social that they are still subject to the existing 20% Fentanyl tariffs but just moving to another bracket.

The focus is also on trade talks between the U.S. and the European Union. EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic is reportedly set to meet with U.S. officials.

The announcement by the US Customs and Border Protection over the weekend that new exemptions from tariffs on various tech products, including smartphones, laptops, and other electronics means that selected electronic items will be excluded from the current 145% tariffs on China, as well as the 10% baseline tariffs.

The U.S. President has said that he would announce the tariff rate on imported semiconductors within the next week.

Traders await the release of U.K.'s employment data for the three months ending in February and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for March, scheduled to be released on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

In the European trading today, the pound rose to nearly a 2-week high of 1.3200 against the U.S. dollar, from an early low of 1.3084. The pound may test resistance around the 1.33 region.

Against the Swiss franc, the yen and the euro, the pound advanced to 4-day highs of 1.0812, 188.89 and 0.8625 from early lows of 1.0678, 186.59 and 0.8695, respectively. If the pound extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.14 against the franc, 190.00 against the yen and 0.83 against the euro.

Looking ahead, Canada new motor vehicle sales data and wholesale sales data for February and U.S. consumer inflation expectations for March are slated for release in the New York session.